Howto...

● A holiday should mean getting away from the stress of daily life, but for many people it just means working from a more scenic location.

A British Airways survey has found that many executives can relax only when they are thousands of kilometres from the boss.

Sue Petrie, BA’s commercial manager for Southern Africa, says: “Access to digital media means that potentially anyone, anywhere, can have access to their office, clients, colleagues and suppliers. While that can make your business competitive and efficient, it can also make it hard to switch off, even when you’ve earned a break.”

Petrie has the following advice:

● Plan for your absence and formally hand over tasks to colleagues, making it clear you will not be available;

● Schedule time to catch up once you return to work. “This may also encourage colleagues to whom you’ve delegated work to in fact do the work rather than explain why they haven’t,” she says;

● Get a second work-free cellphone or go on a tech fast while you are away; and

● Bear in mind that the more relaxing your time away, the more productive you’ll be when you get back to work, so enjoy the time, guilt-free.